Reflection 3: Own Experiences with Individuals with Disabilities
K505
Miranda Henry
May 20, 2009
  • What have been your experiences with people with disabilities when you were in elementary school? In junior high or middle school? In high school?
I remember one little boy that had Down Syndrome. I Knew his name and what classroom his was in all the time. He played with everyone, and was walking around the halls going to his other class when I went I got a drink of water or went to the bathroom. I changed schools in middle school and really didn’t know anyone with special needs. I knew kids in the resource room and knew their math and English class was easier than me. In high school there were the kids that went to the vocation school and those were the kids that went to the “lower level” math and English class in middle school.
  • Does someone in your family have a disability?
I have a couple of relatives with Down syndrome, Deafness, and Multiple Sclerosis, and partial blindness and ADHD.
  • How have your experiences with people with disabilities influenced your understanding of them and your expectations for working with students with disabilities in your classroom?
My sister, uncle, and grandmother have encouraged me to see others as people and not a label or physical challenge. I want my students to be great people and succeed just like my relatives. They have overcome challenges hard as they might be and I don’t want the challenges to reoccur for the students in my class as they get older. My relatives have never let anything stand in their way and they don’t want pity they just want a little help. I have often said while I am explaining my classroom to my parents during open house: I want to be the slats of the education ladder for your children and for your children to do the upward walk up the ladder. The side rails are the other supports in the classroom. This analogy goes for all students.
  • How is the topic of individuals with disabilities related to larger issues of diversity in schools and society?
Diversity is everything: race, religion, economic level, age, physical and mental challenges, and cultural. Everything in a community and school revolves around all people therefore a person with a disability should have every opportunity to be involved and contributing to be benefit others.


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